september 25, 2002 Royals Play the Blues Neill Jeffrey fissistant Sports Editor The Douglas College Royals started off on the wrong foot against the Capilano College Blues in intercollegiate Men’s Soccer on Saturday, September 14, when the home team Blues were awarded a penalty kick two minutes into the game, and went up 1-0. Stung by the quick goal, the Royals regrouped and “showed composure,” said Head Coach Joe Ormerod, impressed by his team’s temper under fire. Tested by the early deficit, the Royals bat- tled back with renewed determination, challenging the Blues for every loose ball and tackling Capilano attackers fearlessly, throwing all they had at the opposition. The Royals were rewarded when Forward John Mackie booted home a rebound from a corner kick, and drew his team even with Capilano. Late in the first half, Midfielder Ryan Fries was caught at close range in the direct path of a cannon- ball to his head and did not return to play in the sec- ond half. “That hurt us,” Coach Omerod conceded afterward, remarking on the impact of losing a play- er with Fries’ versatility, but the Royals played hard through the second half, creating scoring chances and looking the more dangerous of the two teams. Midfielder/Forward Stedman Espinoza was steady all day, and stood out in his cool ball control (easy to spot — the guy with the big hair), usually finding the open man with his smooth passing. Goalkeeper Stephen Way was not run off his feet with work against the Blues, but played his part in denying the Blues any goals after the early penalty kick, gather- ing the few shots managed by the Blues. At the other end, Jonathan Raymur was unlucky to send a good scoring chance directly at the Blues ‘keeper, and Matthew Ormerod put another good chance over the net. Royals Defender Gurwinder Atwal was called for a well-executed scissor tackle of a Blue — effective, but the wrong sport. It earned a bright yel- low card instead of wrestling points. The bullish Sports Walter Oyuela scored another yellow card when he broke in on the Capilano goal offside and shot pointblank at the keeper for good measure. Some days, yellow cards can be collected as easily as autumn leaves. In the middle of the second half, watching from the sidelines, one spirited Royal noticed that his teammates were sagging, and admonished them, “You're not mad enough out there!” Someone else shouted that they had to “want to win.” The game was taking its toll on the players. It was like a mid- summer afternoon on the North Shore, on a beauti- ful pitch surrounded on three sides by forest, with a hazy view of downtown Vancouver to the Southwest. It was hot, especially for the middle of September. Players were less eager to make specula- tive runs, looking for through-balls. Several breaks dissipated into loss of control as tiring forwards tried to dribble around defenders instead of putting it past Blue players and chasing down the scoring chance. A couple of Royals dummied a pass and let it go through, expecting a third player to pick it up. The chance went to waste. It’s still early in the sea- son, and communication between players will improve; it takes time for a team to think as one. Towards the end of the game, the Blues generate some threats on offense, but Royal defenders equal to those opportunities. When a Blue some skillful moves around a couple of Royals, Kristopher Peterson was there and knocked the ball out of harm’s way with superb aplomb. In the final minutes, the Royals pressed forward to score the go- ahead goal, and were then caught with only their goalie back when the ball suddenly sailed over the last defender and cued the chase scene. A Capilano Blue raced after the loose ball and scored, but the officials called the goal back. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, giving the Douglas College Royals a single point. Head Coach Joe the other press Ormerod said, “it would have been nice to get the three points (for a win), but we'll take the point and move on.” He admitted that the heat had affected his team, but they had still created numerous scor- ing chances, and had done well to settle down after the early goal from a penalty kick. Coach Omerod expects the BCCAA Men’s Soccer league to be very competitive this year. The Royals moved on from North Vancouver on Saturday, to Nanaimo on Sunday, where they defeat- ed the Malaspina Mariners, 3-2. The DC Women’s Soccer team was also competitive, but lost both of their games over the weekend, 2-0 to Capilano, and 2-1 to Malaspina. Scores and Schedules BCCAA soccer standings Upcoming Events: (as of September 18, 2002) Sept. 25 Baseball: Douglas vs. Jordan Cripps Women’s Soccer Kwantlen at Mundy Park. Sports Editor Team Games Played | Wins | Losses | Ties | Points Time TBA Capilano 4 3 0 1 10 Sept. 26 Baseball: Douglas vs. Fraser Valley 4 2 1 1 > Capilano at Mundy Park. . 4 2 1 1 7 3:00. Ougias 4 1 2 1 4 Intramural soccer begins in eee Don Malaspina 2 1 1 o | 3 New West Gym. 12:00-2:00. P , Cariboo 2 0 0 2 2 Intramural basketball begins Scores: Okanagan 0. 4 0 0 0 at New West Gym. 12:00- Women’s Division 2 Rugby: Mie’, Succes 2:00. Douglas 0 Abbotsford 20 Fan Games Played | Wins | Losses | Tics [Points | Sept: 28 Men’s and Women’ Soccer: Langara 4 3 1 0 9 Douglas vs. University Soccer Douglas 4 2 0 2 8 College of the Fraser Valley at Men Women Capilano 4 2 1 1 7 Coquitlam Town Centre. Sept. 14 | Douglas 1 | Sept. 14 |Douglas 0 | Fraser Valley 4 2 1 1 7 2:00. Capilano 1 Capilano 2 | Cariboo 2 0 1 1 1 Sept. 29 Baseball: Douglas vs. Sept. 15 | Douglas 3 | Sept. 15 | Douglas 1 | Okanagan 4 0 3 1 1 Malaspina at Mundy Park. Malaspina 2 Malaspina 2 | Malaspina % 0 2 0 0 12:00. © page 24